Video Games

Executive Summary

The video game industry is growing in size, technological sophistication and social reach. More people are playing, more are playing in groups and the demographics of the business are changing, belying the old image of the typical gamer as a male teenager and often a loner. The industry is spreading beyond entertainment to play a role in employee training, education and health care. The widespread use of mobile phones has increased the reach of gaming, and the development of innovations such as virtual reality and augmented reality create opportunities for expansion.

Here are some key takeaways:

Nearly half of the U.S. adult population plays video games, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

Consumer spending on games in 2016 exceeded $30 billion, fueling an industry that employs more than 65,000 workers and added $11.7 billion to the nation’s GDP, according to industry data.

Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo continue to dominate the gaming business, even as some participants move to play on mobile devices.

Coppock, Mark, “Gaming market explodes for $91 billion in 2016, led by mobile and PC games,” Digital Trends, Dec. 22, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/y7wlkdph. The overall gaming market is growing, and mobile games led the way, but PC gaming also expanded in 2016, according to industry data.

Desjardins, Jeff, “How video games became a $100 billion industry,” Business Insider, Jan. 12, 2017, http://tinyurl.com/yb8vehrr. A writer offers a detailed look at the evolution of the video games market and the emergence of mobile gaming.

Popper, Ben, “Field of streams: how Twitch made video games a spectator sport,” The Verge, Sept. 30, 2013, http://tinyurl.com/ycc58jon. A streaming service helps transform eSports from a “niche sideshow” to a centerpiece of the gaming industry.

Shapiro, T. Rees, “Can video games make kids smarter? Yale University researchers think so,” The Washington Post, Sept. 15, 2016, http://tinyurl.com/y7mlcc6n. A study concludes that playing video games can increase learning capacity in elementary school students.

Reports and Studies

“Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry,” Entertainment Software Association, 2017, http://tinyurl.com/yb9qdhed. This annual report from the industry trade association surveys more than 4,000 American households about their video game playing habits and attitudes.

Duggan, Maeve, “Gaming and Gamers,” Pew Research Center, Dec. 15, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/qdva6xf. A Washington research group offers an overview of players and the public’s attitudes toward video games.

The Next Step

Innovation

Gallagher, Michael D., “Video games virtually certain to drive future innovation,” The Hill, July 5, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/ybw9pkrj. More than 300 exhibitors displayed their latest innovations at E3, the industry’s largest video games trade show, over the summer.

Matheson, Rob, “Demo day showcases serious innovation in ‘playful’ tech,” MIT News, Aug. 17, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/ydh4s557. An accelerator backed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and two other groups is providing startup funding to “playful” gaming technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

Patterson, Dan, “Game companies are forerunners of the next wave of business tech innovation,” TechRepublic, July 21, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/yalylhbu. Video game developers are pioneering innovations found in the business technology industry, says the developer of Albion Online, a medieval fantasy game.

Training

Becker, Rachel, “Say what? Playing a puzzle video game could help improve your hearing,” The Verge, Oct. 20, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/y8whprbn. The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School have developed a video game to help the elderly with hearing loss to train themselves to track speech in noisy environments.

Dobkin, Adin, “The Video Game That Could Shape the Future of War,” The Atlantic, Oct. 26, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/ya4wspue. Operation Overmatch, a video game that pits two teams of eight U.S. soldiers against each other in a simulated digital battle, is helping the Army determine which technologies and tactics are most effective.

Organizations

DAQRI1201 W. 5th St., Suite T-900, Los Angeles, CA 90017 1-213-375-8830 https://daqri.com/ A company that has created augmented reality-enabled helmets and glasses for use by the aerospace, defense and engineering industries.

Entertainment Software Association1211 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036 1-202-223-2400 www.theesa.com/ A U.S. trade association that supports the business and public affairs needs of companies that publish computer and video games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers and the internet.